Revisiting the January Goals & February Goals

Way back at the beginning of the month, I set forth some goals for myself. I must say that I am proud of myself for  completing 4 out of 5 tasks, and then adding in 2 others. So here's what I accomplished (new additions are in bold)

• Sort, File, and Throw Out Magazines- Completed Sunday, Jan. 2
• Organize Hutch of the Desk- Completed Sunday, Jan. 2
• Organize Linen Closet- Completed Saturday, Jan. 9
• Organize Guest Bedroom closet - Completed Wednesday, Jan. 26
• Clean out the Garage - Completed Sunday, Jan. 30
• Clean out My Closet- Completed Sunday, Jan. 16

 And what I didn't get to:

• Organize File Cabinet

I'll be the first one to admit-it's a lot more fun for me to organize bigger things rather than smaller things. I hate going through papers and filing. I procrastinated on this task.  But, in my defense, we also need a new file cabinet. It would rather wait until we secure this to take care of all the filing. Nonetheless, it was a goal that wasn't realized. It will need to get accomplished during February.

So what do I want to do in February? Here we goooooooo:

• Deep Clean the Bathrooms, including clean out the bathroom cabinets
• Organize File Cabinet
• Finish reading "The Poisonwood Bible"
• File taxes
• Donate stuff that has been cleaned out.

30 Before 30

My 30th Birthday is looming in the distance...Well, it's 526 days away. I have had some issues with aging over the last few years. I felt fat, my skin looks like a teenage mess, my job was not where I wanted it to be, and my personal life left much to be desired.

Things are starting to turn around, though. As I posted before, I'm getting my weight under control. It's not perfect yet, but I'm feeling better about my progress. I have a plan for my face, and if that is not better in a few months, then I'm going back to my doctor again. In this economy, there is only so much I can do about changing my job, but I  have changed my outlook on it, and I am finding that being happier in general is having a positive effect on my personal life. So things are looking up for me.

In light of all this, I have decided to start a 30 before 30 list. Lists of these sorts are so trendy and popular right now-I resisted for a long time, but I really like the idea of embracing my 30th birthday and celebrating with new challenges or things that I just have been putting off.

1. Go on Vacation. It doesn't have to be exotic, but it has to be for fun, with the hubs, and spend at least 2 nights in a hotel. Staying with family does not count.
2. Come to grips with whether or not we want children, and if we do want them, a plan for when we might want to start trying.
3. Read 8 books before now and then. Yes, the ones I am currently in the midst of count.
4. Wear a two piece bathing suit.
5. Attend a dance intensive without students.
6. Have organized closets that stay that way.
7. Find a signature hair cut/style.
8. Start a vegetable garden.
9. Lose Weight. (91 lbs to be exact.)
10. Apply to grad school.
11. Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it for at least 2 weeks. Modify what doesn't work and stick to it for at least another month.
12. Try 4 new local restaurants (no chains!)
13. Try being vegetarian for a week.
14. Buy a houseplant-and don't let it die.
15. Organize jewelry.
16. Go to the zoo.
17. Complete JL's tshirt quilt.
18. Complete SD's onesie quilt.
19. Try at least 3 new craft projects.
20. Take a real yoga class.
21. Go Hiking.
22. Have a reunion with at least 2 friends from college.
23. Sing at to Karaoke.
24. Go to a Wax Museum.
25. Update Resume
26. Take new, good head shots.
27. Create a jazz dance syllabus.
28. Write an original children's ballet to correspond with the VA SOLs.
29. Pay off Credit Card.
30. Sex. Let's just leave it at that.

Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee

Wine: Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee
Store: Trader Joe's
Price: $4.99

I took this wine along to a social dinner hosted by my work. It was a good, generic, not too exciting, not too bland red wine. I wish I had more to say about it, but it was a looooong evening, and I was honestly more interested in socializing than critiquing a wine. Definitely something I'd get again and analyze a little more deeply. I can see this as a wine "non-red" drinkers can enjoy, especially in the winter.

I must confess...

I'm a fatty. Seriously. I hit my highest weight ever this summer...which was about 100 lbs higher than I was when I graduated from high school. Being a dancer and dance teacher, this was highly embarrassing. I am active in teaching, but teaching is not the same as taking class every day.

I have tried several times to lose weight, with limited success. About 3 years ago I dropped 30 lbs. Last winter I tried tracking my food and cutting back what I was eating. That didn't work. Over the summer, I started using My Fitness Pal, and the hubs got me a bike for my birthday. My goal was to ride for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week. I lost about 10 lbs over the course of a month-not bad. But then Marching Season came up, and there was little time for anything and lots of food on the go. I did OK-keeping off 7 of the 10 lbs I had lost.

A friend of mine had a great idea, though. She worked really hard at getting together a Weight Watcher's At Work group. The plan was to have meetings right after school, before we got home and lacked the motivation to go to actual meetings. My mom had been successful with WW before (my entire family has had issues with their weight), so I was more than happy to give it a try. We started at the beginning October, and our group of about 15 people has lost about 180 lbs. I myself have lost 23 lbs, and that is including the holiday season. I'm really proud of myself-I have been averaging 1.5-2lbs a week (with the exception of a week or two). If I can keep this up, I will be much more comfortable in my skin next summer, and should feel great next year when the school year starts back up. I'm down 1 pants size; sometimes 2 depending on the brand of the pants.

I'm not really sure why I feel compelled to share this with you know. It makes me feel good to see my successes written down. I've been a bit down on myself lately-as proud as I am of my progress, I'm also a bit inpatient. I'm not skinny yet. And I really want to be. The rational thinking side of me knows that this will take time, and I am doing all I need to in order to lose weight safely and effectively. But the numbers and the mirrors are still not acceptable. Maybe by sharing this with you will help me find the joy in my progress and help prevent me from getting discouraged.

And, no, I will not post pics. Aside from being overweight, I am on a mission to get my skin which has suddenly decided it wants to be 13 again under control. And even at my best, I hate pictures.

Christmas at Biltmore White Wine

Wine: Christmas at Biltmore
Store: World Market
Cost: $4.99 (?) at a 50% off after Christmas Sale

I bought this wine on a whim. It was on sale and the label was pretty. Since we were having an after Christmas dinner the other night with a dear friend, I decided we would take it over and give it a try. When said friend pulled it out of the fridge, he said he was excited to try it as he had previously enjoyed their Riesling. Unfortunately, this white wine blend was so good. I didn't save the bottle or label and cannot find information from the winery about the wine, but I do remember it was listed as "semi-sweet." It was like drinking perfume. I absolutely did not like this wine. It tasted like a syrupy sweet moscato, and while I can appreciate a good sweet wine, this one was just too much. I'm thankful that I got this on clearance, and that I was not planning on giving it to anyone as a gift.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

January Goals

I'm not into resolutions. I know this probably looks like a New Year's resolution post, but I promise, it isn't. What I am a big fan of, though, are to do lists. And I am in big need of a project right now; I just don't know where to start. So here's a few things I'd like to get done during the month of January. Notice that organizing has a lot do with them.

• Sort, File, and Throw Out Magazines
• Organize Hutch of the Desk
• Organize Linen Closet
• Organize Guest Bedroom closet
• Organize File Cabinet

I 'm sure I can get all this done by the end of the month...And I may just start by tackling some smaller ones tonight.

***I'm so awesome, I already did the first two (and the easiest ones) tonight!